No blanket ban for Russia — who’s saying what

Who’s saying what after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Sunday opted not to impose a blanket Rio Olympics ban on Russia:

“Disappointingly, in response to the most important moment for clean athletes and the integrity of the Olympic Games, the IOC has refused to take decisive leadership.”

– Travis T. Tygart, the chief executive of USADA, the American anti-doping body.

“The decision regarding Russian participation and the confusing mess left in its wake is a significant blow to the rights of clean athletes.”

– Tygart again.

“What sort of message does this send out? Surely IOC’s job is to make crucial decisions rather than passing the buck.”

– Chris Hoy, Britain’s six-time gold medallist in cycling, on Twitter

“I had a terrible feeling that arms would be twisted. We know the pros and the cons of a blanket ban, we know the risks of ‘collective justice’, but we also know the risk of not punishing a culture of doping that comes from the very top. I would say that the latter is a much greater threat to sport.”

“The scale of the evidence in the McLaren report arguably pointed to the need for stronger sanctions rather than leaving it to the international federations at this late stage.”

– UK Sports Minister Tracey Crouch

“The International Tennis Federation (ITF) believes it is right that clean athletes are permitted to compete in Rio 2016 and looks forward to welcoming the Russian tennis players, along with all other nominated athletes, to Rio.”

– ITF clearing the eight Russian tennis players to go to Rio.

“Rioooooo.”

– Russian tennis player Svetlana Kuznetsova on Twitter, completing her tweet with three Russian flags.

“Rio, we are coming.”

– Russian teammate Elena Vesnina.

“IOC chooses obfuscation and chaos on Russia competing at Olympics.”

– Headline on website of Guardian newspaper

“We have set the bar to the limit.”

– IOC president Thomas Bach defending the decision not to impose a blanket ban.

“I am absolutely sure that the majority of the Russian team will meet the criteria.”

– Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko.

“The European Olympic Committees (EOC) completely supports today’s decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is a valued member of the EOC. The EOC was pleased to note that the McLaren report did not implicate the ROC as an institution, and this was clearly a key consideration in today’s IOC Executive Board decision. Today’s decision is not the end of the affair, however. There is still much work to be done. The ROC’s commitment to ensuring Russia fields teams of clean athletes now and in the future is welcome.”